Information and Insight on Criminal Law and Civil Rights

Archives: Criminal Defense

By Chuck Peterson on December 11, 2018 Posted in Constitutional Law,Criminal Defense,News,Politics,TrialsSlate Magazine has done a great job recounting what happened at Ruby Ridge in its Podcast Standoff. Listening now and remembering how life can turn in an instant. Want the inside story? Ron Howen, Gerry Spence and others tell the story from their viewpoint. Episode 4 tells how the FBI held back the most important… Continue Reading

By Chuck Peterson on September 22, 2018 Posted in Criminal Defense,EvidenceBoise State University Professor Dr. Greg Hampikian is a Biologist whose work has identified persons wrongly accused and convicted of crimes. He is regarded as one of the foremost forensic DNA experts in the United States and beyond. He is the founder of the Idaho Innocence Project, which, along with other state Innocence Projects, has… Continue Reading

By Chuck Peterson on September 19, 2018 Posted in Criminal Defense,Marijuana,PoliticsYesterday I posted about Idaho’s tough marijuana laws. Is Idaho any closer to legalizing marijuana-based products? How about cannabidiol (CBD) oil? I don’t think so. It seems like every week I receive an email solicitation offering to sell me CBD oil, ordered online and delivered by mail to my home or office. Each such offering… Continue Reading

By Chuck Peterson on September 18, 2018 Posted in Criminal Defense,MarijuanaIdaho’s Marijuana Laws Are Tough – Maybe Even Unfair! I spent time yesterday driving to and from a rural courthouse in Western Idaho for a hearing on a marijuana case. The charge – felony possession of marijuana – arises out of a car having been stopped near the Oregon border during early morning hours for… Continue Reading

By Chuck Peterson on August 1, 2018 Posted in Constitutional Law,Criminal Defense,FirearmsIn 2016 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Wilson v. Lynch (9th Cir. Case No. 14-15799) that medical marijuana cardholders are prohibited from purchasing firearms based on federal regulations. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) sent an Open Letter to gun dealers in 2011 stating that, “If you are aware… Continue Reading

By Chuck Peterson on July 19, 2018 Posted in Criminal DefenseI frequently get this question – “how can they charge me with rape? She said she was 19!” The answer is simple, a representation of the age of an apparently consenting person means nothing! Bupkis! Nada! Absolutely nothing! What matters is the age of the person – that is – the ACTUAL age. The law… Continue Reading

By Chuck Peterson on March 8, 2018 Posted in Criminal Defense,Federal Sentencing,News,Trials,UncategorizedI just finished reading a news story in the NY Times titled “Frail, Old and Dying, but Their Only Way Out of Prison Is In A Coffin.” It follows reporting by The Marshall Project on the same topic. The bottom line, accurately told by both is this: there are far too many old prisoners who… Continue Reading

By Chuck Peterson on February 27, 2018 Posted in Criminal Defense,NewsI am at it again, trying to keep a nice young man from a great family out of prison. Again. He awaits his fate. Again. And he is not alone. So many of the people addicted to opiates cycle in and out of the drug and in and out of the justice system. They fight… Continue Reading

By Chuck Peterson on February 24, 2018 Posted in Constitutional Law,Criminal Defense,Search and SeizurePeople frequently ask questions about search and seizure, particularly when the search is not conducted pursuant to a warrant. The Constitution prohibits unreasonable searches. A warrantless search is unreasonable unless an exception to the warrant requirement applies. One common exception permits an officer to conduct a limited “pat-down” search of a detained person for weapons.… Continue Reading

By Chuck Peterson on September 21, 2017 Posted in Constitutional Law,Criminal DefenseThe Idaho Supreme Court once again points out the importance of challenging line-up identifications whenever the issue arises. Many people do not understand how common such evidence is, or how often jurors rely on the identification as the basis for their decisions. Eyewitness identification evidence can destroy a defense case with little more effort than… Continue Reading

By Chuck Peterson on September 19, 2017 Posted in Assistance of Counsel,Criminal DefenseWe receive daily inquires regarding the expungement of convictions, dismissing convictions, and reducing felony judgments to misdemeanors. Here are the Idaho options for someone who has completed probation. I hope this post helps demystify the procedures. Withheld judgment: Idaho generally allows each person one withheld judgment, but not every offense will support a withheld judgment. For example… Continue Reading

By Chuck Peterson on May 16, 2017 Posted in Assistance of Counsel,Constitutional Law,Criminal DefenseJust how far does the fourth amendment to the United States Constitution go to protect against a warrantless search of an apartment? That question was again considered this week by the First Circuit Court of Appeals in US v. Yoga Almonte-Baez, a case in which the petitioner was convicted of drug trafficking crimes and sentenced to 156 months… Continue Reading

By Chuck Peterson on May 4, 2017 Posted in Criminal Defense,DUI,Hire a Lawyer Today’s question: “What happens if you are arrested and charged with driving under the influence of drugs? Let’s say prescription drugs. What does the prosecutor have to prove to obtain a conviction?” This question comes to me more frequently today than ever before, probably because more and more people who are taking medications prescribed… Continue Reading

By Chuck Peterson on April 14, 2017 Posted in Assistance of Counsel,Criminal Defense,TrialsThe two best words for any criminal defense lawyer and any defendant – NOT GUILTY. Heard them again to day in the case of State vs. April Rice. Ms. Rice was charged with grand theft after she received a check from the County that belonged to the estate of another person. Eight months after it… Continue Reading

By Chuck Peterson on March 16, 2017 Posted in Criminal Defense,Hire a Lawyer,Politics,UncategorizedOK – I get it. If you are the Prez’ and you ran on a scare platform that crime is rampant in the streets and makes it more likely you will be murdered in Chicago than you will find an empty Starbucks in Seattle, you’ve got to get tough on crime! So the Donald’s new… Continue Reading

By Chuck Peterson on March 15, 2017 Posted in Assistance of Counsel,Criminal Defense,TrialsOh man, has it really been that long since I last posted on this blog? I feel like I need to go to confession – “Forgive me father for I have sinned, it has been eight months since my last blog post….” But enough about that, instead, let’s start with some success – in the… Continue Reading

By Chuck Peterson on July 7, 2016 Posted in Civil Rights,Constitutional Law,Crime Victims,Criminal Defense,NewsI am packing for the weekend and watching a little TV news this morning, and from that box a witness to a fatal shooting in Louisiana offered this explanation for the dramatic killing of a black man by a police officer there: “Officers threw him to the ground, got on top of him and shot… Continue Reading

By William Young on July 2, 2016 Posted in Constitutional Law,Criminal Defense,TrialsThe decision whether to waive a preliminary hearing, and give up a review of the probable cause determination, can often be a tough one for clients to make. Every client hopes a win at preliminary hearing means the whole case goes away before it really ever started. Unfortunately, the truth is the State’s burden at… Continue Reading

By Chuck Peterson on July 1, 2016 Posted in Criminal Defense,NewsAfter a fully contested prelim by which the State barely had enough evidence to establish probable cause, and after we found witnesses to contest the basic premise of the State’s case against Jack Holland, a weather man for a Twin Falls television station, the State today filed its motion to dismiss. Included within that motion… Continue Reading

By Courtney Peterson on June 30, 2016 Posted in Criminal Defense,Federal SentencingStrong sentencing arguments are critical in every case. Every single case. Regardless of how you find yourself in a sentencing hearing – after a conviction by a jury or a judge, or through a plea agreement – your chances at being placed on probation or being locked up will often hinge on your attorney’s ability… Continue Reading

By Chuck Peterson on June 27, 2016 Posted in Assistance of Counsel,Criminal Defense,Domestic Violence,TrialsIn my split brained world a month or so ago, I had just finished watching another episode of The People vs. O. J. Simpson and reading an article in the New York Times describing the Supreme Court decision overturning a 1987 death penalty case in which prosecutors had, according to every Justice except Clarence Thomas, excluded… Continue Reading

By Chuck Peterson on May 6, 2016 Posted in Civil Rights,Criminal Defense,News,UncategorizedYesterday I was complaining to Courtney and Will that we needed to get writing. “Why haven’t you two been posting anything to the blog? It’s not like there isn’t interest out there about our cases and the law generally!” Then I looked at my posts – or the lack thereof this year. Where does the… Continue Reading

By Chuck Peterson on February 3, 2016 Posted in Assistance of Counsel,Constitutional Law,Criminal DefenseAfter 35 years practicing criminal defense, I am sometimes cynical about our system of justice. Prosecutors overcharge offenses in an attempt to prompt a plea from defendants. Defendants are seldom “presumed innocent” in the eyes of the arraigning judge, many of whom impose restrictions on pretrial release that are as onerous as the penalty for… Continue Reading

About

I am Boise, Idaho criminal defense and DUI attorney Chuck Peterson, and for over thirty years I have been a practicing trial lawyer. I focus on providing the best defense possible to my clients facing criminal charges, and trying the...